No Salvation
by jeremybekah
Summary: It was not a happy ending, but rather, the only revenge she had left - glimpses into Katherine Pierce's last encounters with the men she both ruined and was ruined by.


Stefan was the first she turned away.

Katherine never knew whether or not Stefan had sought her out, or if it had simply happened, that he'd just found her.

Whatever the explanation was, he was there. Katherine could not deny she was pleased with this turn of events. Once he'd sworn to her that he would love her forever. As heartless as she often appeared – or rather, made herself appear – there had always been something about Stefan to draw her in. She had loved him, and Katherine did not love easily. Not so much as Katerina Petrova had known how to do so. This, she knew, was all tied up in the long years of running, never letting a soul close enough to give her heart away. And perhaps, the fate of her mother; her mother who had died a human death. Her mother who had sent her away. If Katherine could love a mother who would cut her off, then Stefan should love her. It had been hard to see such anger in his eyes. The plan had worked, in 1864. Stefan and Damon had been turned, the tomb vampires had been gotten rid of. She would have been safe, from Klaus, from Elijah. But then it had all gone wrong.

It was easy to blame Elena. It was easy to want the girl with her face dead. It would even feel like a gift, watching Stefan see his once human lover die. She wondered if he would hold on to _this_ 'great love', if he would remember the feelings that he had, and remember Elena.

Like he had not done with Katherine.

"Stefan Salvatore. You don't look a day out of 1864." Katherine drawled, a hand brushing towards his cheek, only to see Stefan flinch.

He sighed, his eyes sad. "A lot of time has passed. You know that as well as I do."

It hurt. His face, his voice, the rough cadence, the kind demeanour; it was all distinctly Stefan. It brought back the memory of his lips on her skin, and his eyes, oh, the way he'd looked at her once – trustingly, lovingly, like she was his universe. Like she was everything, and without her to hold him together, he would have nothing.

The way that she had nothing now.

"You never change. Strong, like you were. Handsome. Kind. Brave. Selfless. Selfish. Cruel. Despicable. You're always you, Stefan. Always you." She smiled, a little arrogantly, and wondered what Elena needed saving from this time, and when exactly Stefan would ask. And then the moment would fade. "Shall I go on? I might know more about you than you do yourself. We were always two of a kind. Not Damon. _Sweet_, innocent Damon. He could never hope to understand me the way you do."

"I've hated you." Stefan almost growled. "I tried to hate you. There's something about you." It was a grudging admittance but the best she would receive.

She took this as her cue, wrapping her body around him, slamming against the wall. It was all too easy to make Stefan lose control. Perhaps that was why he had tried to hate her. He blamed her, she knew, for almost everything that had ever happened to her.

Katherine enjoyed the thought of that control over him.

She trailed kisses on his neck, her tongue curling against her fangs, aching for the days where he had been human and she had drunk his blood. That had been intoxicating, enough to make her realize that she could love him. In spite of that, she had always been able to hurt him and now was no different.

She could see Elena's name on his lips and did not want to hear it, damning any consequence and biting into his neck, remembering exactly how it had felt when Mikael had done the same to her. Stefan's blood trickled down her throat and she pulled him closer to her, held him tighter, her grasp impossible to escape from. Her finger stroked down the side of his cheek.

When she pulled back, he looked pale. Pale and angry. She realized, then, that the anger had never left. She would never be anything like Elena, not to him. "Where is she, Stefan?" Her voice was calm.

"You've never cared before." Stefan said coolly. "Not about anything. Don't start now."

"Oh, Stefan." Katherine had already made up her mind. "Go back there and watch your brother break her heart for me, will you?" He looked as if she had hit him, and stood there simply for a moment, before she waved goodbye, mockingly and sweetly.

She had always been safer without him, anyway.

* * *

Elijah was the next she could not abide to please.

How he had found her, she did not – but perhaps he always would. It seemed as though Elijah was exceptionally gifted at tracking her down, and truthfully, Katherine doubted this was the last she would ever see him.

"Do you believe in love, Katerina?" Elijah queried a cadence of amusement in his voice. It was a fond amusement, one that spoke of familiarity, which Katherine most certainly did not like. That was what Elijah _believed_ he held, a fundamental knowledge of Katherine and who she was. That was what made him dangerous; he believed that he knew her. That was why she could not bear to be in his presence. How was it that he appeared to be so very kind? Yet, she had seen the monstrosity that Elijah could commit, the cruelty that was as much a part of him as it was his siblings. Somehow she came across as the evil vampire, whilst he was a paragon of virtue. Katherine had never understood that, how Elijah tricked her into believing that he was better than her, morally superior, one that ought to be trusted as much as trust could be given.

"I am no fool, Elijah. Don't treat me as one." Her snarl did not appear to affect him, as he only smiled gently.

"That's a no. Then why would you want to exist?" It was irritating, the way she could not refute that these were words that she herself had once spoken. "Love is all there is left in this world for us, is it not?"

Now he was simply mocking her, and she knew it. "Klaus is far cleverer with his words. Leave the tormenting to him; really, we'd all be much happier for it." There was no inflection in her tone, just a sharp glare at the much older vampire.

"We always argue, you and I." Elijah said wistfully, "I almost miss the games. Hide and seek. I played them to humour you, you realise."

He was manipulating her, Katherine noted coldly. She refused to allow it to work. Clearly, there was something that Elijah wanted from her. She'd be damned if she gave him anything. He'd taken enough.

"You fell in love with Stefan." Elijah stated. There was no emotion behind it, nothing to hint at what his purpose in bringing it up was. Nothing at all.

Her brow furrowed, irritation striking at her. Stefan and Elijah did not mix well to her, should not be mixed at all. She did admit they had certain similarities, but that was as much as Katherine would admit to. "Quite the observation, _my lord, _considering I have no recollection of you seeing him and I together."

"He saw something human in you, am I correct? That was the draw?" He'd moved from apathy to a certain wistfulness, which bothered Katherine more. What did Elijah want from her? Why was he here?

Fear seemed to spike; Katherine looked up, examining his expression, searching for answers and finding none. Of course she wouldn't. She understood nothing of him. "What does it matter? He certainly does not see that any longer."

"You saw it in me," she barely heard his quiet whisper, fragile and unguarded – but this man was an expert. A diplomat of a thousand years. Brilliant in the art of manipulation. "Once."

"And you were very charmed by it, I've no doubt." Katherine was angry now, that he would use this against her. That he would pretend – equate any sort of _love_ between himself and her. "My death would have been a small road bump in this great romance, is that it? I _humanised_ you so very much, you thought it best your brother killed me? What do you want, Elijah? We may have thousands of years on our hands, but I've no wish to spend them rehashing our story. Truth be told, it was dry in parts and you were quite the bore." Her words came quickly and without second thought – acting on impulse, the walls that she'd long since built up immediately retaliating against any insinuation that he _cared_.

He looked at her very sadly. Katherine was reminded of the way she'd seen him once, wisdom and power and protection. Gentleness and beauty, that had been Elijah to her. When she was human, finite and weak – stupid. "Just go. Or tell me what you want. Whatever it is. There's something, isn't there?"

"My sister is dead," he stated blankly. "Rebekah. She's gone."

Katherine lifted an eyebrow. If Elijah expected this news to affect her, he wasn't nearly as clever and perceptive as reputation would claim. "It's about time. Last I saw her; she was developing crow's feet."

Elijah laughed, very humourlessly, very bitterly. "Have you never lost your entire world, Katerina? Don't be so cold. It's never suited you."

"You never knew me long enough to know anything of me, Elijah. Face that. If Rebekah is gone and you have sought me out as a replacement for whatever affection your sister had left to give… leave." It was easy to say. She cared nothing for Elijah, not anymore. Perhaps she had never, the words she'd just spoken echoing. They had never known the other. For all his words about honesty and honour, Elijah had always lied to Katherine.

"I no longer care about winning, but nor do I want you to catch me. Our chance is long gone. You gave it up. Were you there, when your brother killed my family? I think you were. I have always thought that you were. When one believes something for so very long – and the fact that I believe you capable of it still - means there is little to be done about anything. Go. If you have any honour left, you'll do me that favour." She spoke bitingly, and spitefully, caring little about whether or not Elijah reacted badly at this point. If he killed her, she would be dead but at least some of her long since gone principles would have returned. Elijah could surely respect that.

"I was never asking you to trust me, Katerina." Elijah's words made no sense to her. Nor did his expression of misery. She had no regrets watching him leave, alone. He had made her alone for many years.

If this was the end of their story, she would be very happy indeed.

* * *

She welcomed Klaus, in the end. Only him.

His saunter was familiar, his predatory gaze reminded Katherine of herself. In a twisted way, he felt as though he was her family. Oh, she knew it was despicable, and hated herself for it, but he was the only harbor she had. Her salvation, if she wanted to remain on earth. Alive, as Katherine wished to be.

Running was impossible. No one could run forever.

And he needed someone, someone to take out his rage upon, perhaps, but also someone to cling to. The Mikaelson sister had disappeared entirely – Elijah had not lied - and the enraged torment in Klaus' eyes was more than evident. Katherine rather enjoyed helping Klaus destroy cities in his search.

Of course she realized that she should have chosen Elijah, or Stefan – Elijah, who claimed to know her, and Stefan, who claimed to love her… or was it the other way around? Either way, Klaus was the only one who seemed to need her.

And together they were quite a pair. If only for the way neither could ever give up their hatred for the other, tolerance usually the best form of fondness they could manage.

"Call me Nik," he would smirk at her. "Go on."

She would hate him for that. Katherine could never love him, and could never forget how he had hurt her. Perhaps that was Klaus' real curse – anyone who so much as cared for him, just a little, would desperately crave his death. Crave bringing about his death. It wasn't much of a happy ending, the two of them, together. But they were both alive. And so always would remain.


End file.
